Groundwater Protection and the Virginia Department of Health

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Groundwater Protection and the Virginia
Department of Health

• Robert W. Hicks, Director, Office of
  Environmental Health Services
• Chris Adkins, P.E., Office of Drinking Water
• June 22, 2005

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Groundwater Protection Local Health Department
Activities

• Background
• Prior to 1982, only a few localities regulated
  the construction of private drinking water wells.
• In 1982, the Board of Health adopted the Sewage
  Handling and Disposal Regulations requiring
  private drinking water wells installed in
  conjunction with an onsite sewage system to meet
  certain construction standards and
  bacteriological standards.
• In 1986, the General Assembly, passed the
  Virginia Private Well Construction Act which
  mandated the Board of Health adopt regulations
  pertaining to the location and construction of
  private wells in the Commonwealth.
• Effective September 1990, the Board of Health
  adopted the Private Well Regulations requiring
  owners wanting construct a private well apply to
  the local health departments for a construction
  permit.
• In 1988, the General Assembly, expanded the
  Board of Healths mandate in regulating onsite
  sewage systems to protect not only surface
  water, but also to exercise due diligence to
  protect the quality of ground water as well.

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Recommendations by the Water Allocation Group

• Findings
• water well data is critical to localities
• Data is incomplete
• Difficult to access
• Limited usefulness.
• Recommendation to create a reliable and
  accessible database.

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Reliable and accessible database

• In February, 2001, VDH started the implementation
  a statewide database system for its environmental
  health programs.
• The information system, known as the Virginia
  ENvironment Information System (VENIS), launched
  its first website where restaurant inspection
  data is available for viewing and accessible
  worldwide.
• In late summer 2003, all local health departments
  began entering data on onsite sewage systems and
  private wells into specially developed database
  modules.

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Data Elements

• Construction Data (a subset is below)
• Well Depth
• Casing Type and Depth
• Casing Diameter
• Grout Type
• Grout Depth
• Grout Method
• Drawdown Quantity and Units
• Yield
• Construction Dates
• Driller
• Parcel Identifier
• Locality
• Longitude and Latitude to be added

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Physiographic Provinces
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Historical Data

• As resources allow, localities should inventory
  data from existing GW2 reports (historical data).
  
• A more difficult challenge for local health
  departments.
• Fauquier County

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Status on Private Well Data

• VDH has a database that meets the Commissions
  recommendation.
• Data entry on new construction by local health
  departments is a top priority.
• Entering historical data is important, but
  requires additional resources.
• Records available back to 1982 for some private
  drinking water wells
• Records on all types of private wells constructed
  available in late 1991.